Blogs

Fresh out of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP), I joined the Rochester-based Giltspur Exhibits in 1976 when I heard that they needed another pair of hands to join their design department. I knew nothing about the exhibit industry at the time, but dove in, got up to speed and never looked back. My career took me to GE and later inspired me to create Creatacor alongside Russ Percenti.
Design is in my blood and that’s really what a successful exhibit or trade show is about: delivering great design, effectively.
The No. 1 aspect of the industry that has changed the most during my career is… more

Trade show marketing is a great way to put your brand in front of your target audience through face-to-face demos and interactions. Unfortunately, trade show marketing can also be very competitive, as it's likely that many others at your trade show are offering the same product or service, and trying to appeal to the exact same audience.
With hundreds or even thousands of booths all set up at the same show, how can you make your business truly stand out? How can you generate leads without losing the attention of your potential customers to your competitors, even though you're all set up in… more

So recently at Confex, we had a great panel of techxperts, hosted by James Morgan of Event Tech Lab, presenting a quick-fire round of 10 Top Tech Trends in Exhibitions, Awards, Galas and Corporate Events. My focus was on Exhibitions and I had 60 seconds per slide. I’ll try to summarize, in as few words as possible, to share some different perspectives for you to explore.
10. Marketing as a Service
This isn’t listed as number ten in a sliding scale of numero uno being the top trend. “MaaS” is at number ten because it encompasses pretty much everything else I covered. Marketing is changing.… more

Finding the right speakers, and speakers of quality, is one of the most important aspects of creating a successful event. With the right speaker and the right topic, your attendees will be excited to hear what they have to say and will walk away with a meaningful experience.
Many events will have a “Call for Papers” where individuals from the industry or community are invited to submit a topic to be considered. This method can be effective to find great speakers for your event however, you might find that you see the same people and topics being submitted time after time. To help you in your… more

With more than 20 years of experience serving the events industry, Nick Borelli has earned the coveted role as trusted advisor to many event organizers and for good reason. His command of digital marketing strategies is impressive.
In any given week, you’ll also find Nick sharing insights at industry events, in webinars or in his Facebook Live Stream broadcasts. What I appreciate most about Nick is his extra-mile, go-giver style, coupled with his smart probing. He’s particularly good at helping event organizers to lock in on goals first – so they can zero in on the marketing strategy best… more

“We bend over backward to make our clients happy.”
How many times have you heard that saying? And what does it really mean?
Assigning actions to these words is vital to a company’s success. At the end of the day, after the work is done and the event is over, people don’t remember the technology or equipment you provided, they remember how they were treated. That’s why it’s so important to make customer service a priority.
In my experience with Teamwork, customer service is the root of everything we do. It’s one of the reasons that attracted me to the company in the first place. I value… more

The quality of your graphics can make or break your success at events. But they can also break your budget and put a serious strain on the environment.
In an attempt to grab attention, exhibitors try to out-do each other with the biggest, best and flashiest graphics. The result? An event that rivals Times Square for sheer sensory overload, with out-of-control costs and a negative environmental impact.
It’s time to look at sustainability and how to reduce your graphics clutter.
Out with the old
What materials do you select for exhibit graphics?
If you're still using foam core, then… more

Every business I’ve worked with has one common bond, and that is the awareness and efforts to implement programs to become more environmentally friendly and improve processes to become “Green.” Even if it isn’t in their existing company culture to have this awareness, it’s a topic I bring up as I consult with various companies now and it’s how I operate my business – I am paperless, wireless, remote – all those earth-friendly achievements we should all strive for. It’s not only a smart business move for multiple reasons we’ll discuss but it’s the right thing to do.
Creating a paperless… more

Whether you are a company or an individual professional, your social media presence or absence drives your visibility and branding. In addition, just planting your stake in the social media landscape is no longer adequate to enhance your brand. Once your digital locations are established, the next important step is to feed the “social media content monster.” That monster thrives on Posts, Tweets, Shares and Likes, similar to how we need oxygen to live. The content you post needs to be fresh so that it is relevant to interests of the audience at that moment. In addition, it needs to be timely… more

Career paths are not always linear. Sometimes they zigzag every which way, from different departments to new destinations. Exciting things can happen when your career path takes an unexpected turn.
It’s rare to find someone who sought out a career in the events industry. Like so many event professionals, I fell into it, in a sense. After “falling into it,” I was promoted from one department to another, meeting people from all facets of the industry and continuously learning and growing along the way. My pinball career was self-made. I worked hard to create my own opportunities, as well as… more